Voting machine



Get 9, 1934. R. D. UHTHOFF VOTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 18, 1929 INVENTOR. M112. w,

a, r m Hal TORNEY.

Patented Oct. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES VOTING MACHINE Richard D. Uhthoff, Crcskill, N. J., assignor of one-tenth to Benjamin Webster and ninetwentieths to Thomas A. Dobson, both of New York, N. Y.; Frieda M. Uhthoff administratrix of said Richard D. Uhthoff, deceased Application December 18, 1929, Serial No. 414,92

Renewed November 29, 1933 4 Claims.

this type is disclosed in the patent to Johnson,

No. 960,020, May 31, 1910.

Among the objects of my invention are: first, to provide a mechanism operating simultaneously with the voting knob to expose to the operator of the voting machine a party emblem or mark; second, to provide a mechanism operating simultaneously with the voting knob to remove from the view of the operator of a machine a party emblem or mark; and third, to provide a mechanism operating simultaneously with the voting knob to expose a party emblem or mark when the knob is turned to the voting position of the knob and to remove from view said party emblem or mark when the knob is turned to the initial or nonvoting position, whereby the vote-registering motion and the vote-cancelling motion may be positively indicated to the operator of the machine. Other objects and applications of my invention will appear to those skilled in the art.

Reference is made to my copending application Ser. No. 414,930, filed Dec. 18, 1929, in which I show a construction which permits the voter to reverse his vote, so therefore I provide the indicator and the actuating mechanism which is the subject-matter of my present invention at the top of the machine to indicate clearly to the voter when he is in fact registering his vote and also for what party so that he is saved from confusion and error in the use of a voting machine.

Reference is made to the drawing accompanying and hereby made a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the voting knob and the shield arm in the initial position in which the party emblem or mark is covered,

Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the voting knob and the shield arm in the voting position to expose the party emblem or mark,

Figure 3 is a view from the left partly in section along the line 33 of Figure 2 showing the operating mechanism of the shield arm,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the front of the machine, the vertical registering bar and the horizontal bar,

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the voting knob, its spindle and actuating spur cams, the interacting studs on the vertical bar, the shield-actuating vertical slide, and other mechanism of my device in detail, and

Figure 6 is a side view of the knob-spindle shaft with the actuating spur-cams fixed thereon.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawing. Behind the wall 8 a plate 1 is adapted to slide up and down over the stud 2, which is threaded into the front 8 of the machine, and guided by the vertical edges of the slot 3 and a stud 4 fastened at one end in said plate 1 and extending forward into and adapted to slide in the slot 15 in the vertical registering bar 16 as clearly shown in Figure 5. The shield arm 5 oscillates on a pin 7 fixed in the front 8 of the machine and the end opposite to the shield is formed into a forked slot 6. A stud 9 fastened in the front of the sliding plate 1 passes through the slot 15 in the vertical controlling bar 16 and through an opening 22 in the front 8 of the machine and engages said forked slot 6 to actuate said shield arm 5. It is now clear that when the plate 1 is raised by turning the voting knob 10 from the position shown in Figure 1 to the right a quarter turn to the position shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, as hereinafter described the stud 9 pushes up on the inner lower edge of the upper arm of the forked slot 6 thereby moving the shield arm 5 on its pivot 7 downward to uncover or expose the party emblem or mark 14 which is positioned on the front 8 of the machine.

The voting knob 10 is fixed to a spindle 11 which is journalled in the front 8 of the machine and at the rear in the vertical supporting strip 24:. Spur 19 having cam edges 25 is fixed on the spindle 11 so as to clear the vertical controlling bar 16 and 19 is provided with a recess 26 in order to enable it to clear the edge of plate 1. (See Figures 2, 5, and 6.) A spur cam edge 25, when the spindle 11 is turned to the right, simultaneously engages one of the studs 13 fixed in the vertical controlling bar 16 and the upper of the two studs 12 fixed in the sliding plate 1 near the right edge of said plate. Upon reversing the knob 10 and turning it back from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 1 a spur cam edge 25 engages the next lower stud 13 in the vertical voting-controlling bar 16 and also simultaneously engages the lower stud l2 fixed in the sliding plate 1. The slide 1 is frictionally held at all times against the end of a spacing collar 28 by means of a coil spring 17 held compressed against the opposite side of plate 1 around 1. In a voting machine, a spindle shaft jour naled in said machine, a vertical bar for controlling the registering of a vote, a party indicating device mounted on the front of the machine, a shield pivotally mounted on the front of the machine, a slide mounted behind said vertical bar, means mounted on said slide for oscillating said shield, and means actuated by said spindle shaft for moving said slide.

2. In a voting machine, a party indicating device, a shield for saiddevice, a slide frictionally held in position, means vfor guiding said slide vertically, a stud mounted on said slide and cooperating with said shield and adapted to move said shield to two positions, studs mounted'on another part of said slide, and a cam adapted to engage said studs successively to move said slide in two directions.

3. In a voting machine, a party indicating device, mounted on the machine, a shield for said device also mounted on the machine, a slide frictionally heldin position, a slot in said slide, a stud fixed in said machine and adapted to guide said slide vertically, a stud mounted on the upper 1 part of said slide and extending through the front of said machine and cooperating with said shield to oscillate it, studs mounted on said slide near its edge, and a cam adapted to engage said studs successively to move said slide in two directions.

4. In a voting machine, a party indicating device mounted onsaid machine, a shield adapted to cover said device also mounted on said: machine, a slide frictionally held in position, a slot in said slide, studs adapted to guide said slide vertically, a stud mounted on said slide and ex- 

